JULY 24, 2005

The future of Nick Heidfeld

Nick Heidfeld says that he is happy about his future but does not want to talk about it at the moment. It is believed that the German driver is stuck in the middle of the fight between Williams and BMW and while logic would seem to suggest that Nick would go off to Sauber to be the number one driver of the new BMW team, the reality is that when he signed to drive for Williams he agreed to let the team have an option on his services for 2006. The team may be happy to keep him to that option given that it would deprive BMW of the German star and would help maintain stability at Williams. Having said that Williams has a bit of problem because if Jenson Button joins the team and Mark Webber is kept to his two-year deal (which is likely) there will not be any space for Heidfeld.

However, the Button situation could drag on and Williams would want to hold on to Heidfeld until a decision was clear. And that could leave BMW waiting. Williams might, of course, be willing to sell Heidfeld's contract to BMW but the price would probably be more than Munich would want to pay.

The other point to bear in mind is that switching to Sauber might be viewed as a backward step in his career as the BMW team is going to take a few years to get up to speed.

"I'm in a good situation compared to last year," Heidfeld said at Hockenheim. "I don't have any concerns. I'm part of a very good team and very happy to be on it. Anything can happen."